Winter Spice Wax Tarts

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As the holiday season approaches, many people are looking for ways to create a cozy and festive atmosphere in their homes. One simple and effective way to do this is by filling your house with the delightful smells of Christmas. And what better way to achieve this than by making your own wax melts?

Wax melts are small, scented pieces of wax that are melted in a warmer to release their fragrance. They are a great alternative to traditional candles, as they do not emit any soot or smoke, and can last for several hours. Plus, they are easy to make at home with just a few ingredients.

To make your own wax melts, you will need some wax, fragrance oil, and a mold. You can use any type of wax, but soy wax is a popular choice as it is eco-friendly and has a low melting point. Fragrance oils come in a variety of scents, from traditional Christmas scents like cinnamon and peppermint to more unique scents like gingerbread and pine. You can also add in some festive colors using natural dyes or mica powders.

Once you have your ingredients, simply melt the wax in a double boiler, add in the fragrance and color, and pour the mixture into your molds. You can use silicone molds, muffin tins, or even ice cube trays. Allow the wax to cool and harden before removing the melts from the molds.

To use your wax melts, simply place one or two in a wax warmer and enjoy the lovely aroma that fills your home. You can also place them in small open jars or dishes around the house as potpourri. Just be sure to keep them out of reach of children and pets, as they may mistake them for candy.

With just a few simple steps, you can easily create your own wax melts and enjoy the warm and inviting smells of Christmas in your home. So why not give it a try and see how easy it is to make your own festive wax melts?

Christmas Wax Melts

Learning numbers actually involves a few different skills, from recognizing the shape of the number and knowing the word that goes with it to understanding one to one correspondence for counting and what order the numbers go in.

A lot of this is learned best through play and activities that get kids counting and tracing and otherwise interacting with numbers. These activities can help.

I specifically mentioned tracing above because of these number formation rhymes cards from Teaching Mama, which can be used in lots of ways to practice making the shapes of the numbers, including tracing, lining up items on the number shapes (and counting them!), using playdough to shape the numbers and so on. Each number has a little rhyme to help you remember how to make it, which is cute.

And speaking of playdough, you can find lots of playdough number mats with different themes for kids to use as they learn about numbers. Preschool Play and Learn, for example, has these cute apple themed ones that also teach one to one correspondence as you learn the numbers and count to 10.

Or use these tree-themed ones from Live Over Cs to form the numbers, count out items on a ten frame and place the correct number of items in the tree to match the number (do this with playdough, little buttons or whatever manipulatives you have on hand). Your little builders will also love these Duplo number mats from Life Over Cs, which allow you to shape the number out of blocks and count out the number of blocks that corresponds to each number.

I also love these mats from The Savvy Sparrow that include the number and the word you can trace with playdough or marker, showing how to count the number on your fingers, a tens frame and a number line.

Finger plays and counting songs are lots of fun for little ones, too, and Childhood 101 has a great collection of songs and rhymes having to do with numbers (as well as printable song cards you can use with them.

This cardboard roll number chain form Hands On As We Grow would be a fun addition to singing number songs or to use in other play and counting games. And we all love something easy to make with stuff we already have.

Older kids who already know the order of numbers can also use these connect the dot number printables from Fun Learning for Kids. Or use the shapes for playdough mats or to practice tracing even for kids who don’t know all the numbers in order yet.

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